As the title says i've been out for a while (3 years) and would like to get back in. I still have all my old cars which I plan on keeping as the updated versions don't add enough to justify buying an all new fleet. What i've been having a hard time finding is what's new with electronics. I run 8th truggy and buggy with HW XR8's and Tekin T8s in both. From what I can tell those are still a good option. The real question is in my 1/10 2wd buggy, truck and 4wd buggy. In those I use SP Reventon pro 1.1's and Trinity D4 13.5 1s or 17.5 1s depending on class. Are those still a competitive option? I know there was some question of the short stack motors losing ROAR legality. Is there anything newer and better (game changing) that I should look at getting? SP seems to have fallen off the face of the earth so once those die I'll have to find a new brand. I've used the HW stuff in on road and like it but what else is out there? Fanboys chime in lol.

In summary:
Is the D4 1s still legal?
Are there any new motors that blow those out of the water?
Is there any new ESC brand I should start giving my life to?
Is what I have still competitive?

I would run what you have just to knock the rust off for a bit.

See if the track in your area is enforcing ROAR approved motors. In my area the most common motor is the Trinity Punisher which is an outlaw motor, it's cheap and has helped end the motor war. Folks can still run their "team motors" if they prefer, but the $75 Punisher is every bit as fast as any $150 motor on the market.

ESC's haven't changed much but the XR10 series is one of the more popular ESC's I see locally. I see you're in Texas too, so chances are your club does not follow ROAR restrictions either, I race at Thornhill in Hutto,TX myself.

Battery tech on the other hand has changed a lot, the name of the game is low IR, pretty good video here explaining how to get the best performance out of your packs:

I use an iCharger 406 Duo and Trinity White Carbon and I will cycle my pack just before the mains.

well i can answer 3 out of 4 of you question. is it legal?, new motors that blow those out of the water?, what I have still competitive? depends.

if your just club race hopping, even a few "big trophy races" or "what". you'll be fine and more then competitive with what you got.

if your one of the few that are the top echelon of drivers following the pro circuits, then yes there are faster an far more competitive Motors. and just about ever current generation motor should blow 2-3 generation old motors out the water. As governing standards are loosened, and engineering brake throws are made.

now which ones the fastest for your application?... Thats a good question.

esc well i sold my sole to Tekin. no real good reason why. HW stuff is very very popular at the track i run at. be on that as long as your esc aren't glitchly or 2 gens old i wouldn't worrier. but there has been some changes bout nothing i would consider "GROUND BRAKING" be on being 1 gen old.

my 2 cents

Hey Bill! I am also out of Austin. Was racing at Thornhill and N-Control. I remember you helped me a lot when I first came into the hobby. Thanks for that! I'll have to check out that motor. You also bring a good point about batteries. I had quite a few batteries and most of them seem okay after a few cycles but I guess I forgot to storage charge some of them. When I pulled some out of storage they were so badly puffed I'm surprised they didnt blow. I'm wary of all of them though just cause of the time they were sitting unused. The ones I deemed good have no puff and surprisingly discharged and charged to about their rated capacity. I'll look into getting new ones though. Is SMC still a good brand?

Your 2 cents are worth at least a couple bucks!

I race club a lot and i'm more focused on the fun of it than the competition but I also went to all the trophy races and it was game on with them. I wasnt an A main winner but after about 6 months I would usually place in upper B to lower A mains.

I guess I'll keep what I have for the moment and upgrade as needed. As my SpeedPassion esc's die. I have a HW XR10 in another car and love it. Its a good mid cost option it seems. I feel like I remember it being more expensive but at 119$ new thats not bad if I only need to get one every few months.

SMC is a decent budget brand though they can't really be charged at high 20A-40A rates without risk of damaging the cells, the shop at Thornhill has some quality budget packs too, many folks have been charging them at 40A without issue.

Turf racing has significantly died off once Thornhill started watering the dirt track to keep tire wear down, almost everyone jumped over to dirt. You might want to consider getting your wheeler setup for dirt, sometimes they get enough 17.5 entries to run on turf, but it's been very hit and miss lately. Turnout for Wed night racing is also low, If you can show up tonight to race, that would be a huge help. 1/10 racing in general has also been on the decline, many folks used their stimulus money to upgrade to more expensive 1/8 gear. The 2 most popular classes right now are 1/8 electric buggy and 4WD SCT.

I'll bring an extra set of dirt tires for your wheeler if you want to run with us tonight!

Anyway, welcome back!

I was looking for an advantage in my electronics and after trying a couple products I have switched over all of my esc’s and servos to Pro Performance Rc equipment. It is hands down the most connected feel that I have ever experienced and my lap times at my local track instantly dropped from the first pack. What is best is that I can send them a message on the Facebook page about tuning and get an answer quickly. Definitely the best support I have found so far

I really wish I could but I work a second shift job right now M-F. I appreciate you doing that though.

Thats good to know though. I still have 10 sets of mounted AKA chainlinks and a few sets of Ions and gridiorns from racing on the clay track. Surprisingly they haven't dried out and are still as soft as the day I left them. Dont know what i'll do with them if they wont work. So from what i can tell they use the "big" track for 10th dirt? I guess the chainlink style wouldn't be ideal. What do you think? Think they'll work on the dirt track? I assume they use a pin style like they do for turf.

I looked at the schedule on Thornhill FB and it is slightly confusing. When I was there last they had only just finished the turf track and were still doing the alternating JR/big track schedule. From what I can gather they run turf if there are enough entries and the 10th/8th dirt are mixed together. Do they run those all concurrently one after the other or do they run turf the same time as dirt? Is there a 17.5 2wd dirt class? I have both a XB2CE and DE just need to know which to setup. I didnt see it listed so i'm guessing 2wd 10th is limited to turf. I also have a 13.5 xb4 that is more or less ready to go minus maybe tires. I just realized there is no end to my questions so i'm just gonna come Saturday to see how things work now. It'll be easier to get all my questions answered. I'm hoping to run 8th Ebuggy/truggy and 10th 2wd/4wd/2wdST. I sold my SCT cause it was not popular but ill keep an eye out for one to get back in that class. Will you be there? If so ill look for you.

All I could find was their facebook page. Where do they have product info and pricing?

I have not converted my 4WD buggy over to dirt yet, but I have been running my 4WD ST and have tested quite a few tread patterns before I settled on Chainlinks on the front with CrossLinks on the rear as being my favorite combination, here are the treads that I have tested so far:



This yields the fastest lap times for my 4WD ST:



Most of us are running super soft compound but one guy is running Scribbles with clay compound having very good results.

See you on Sat!

Good to know cause thats all I have. I wont be racing cause I need to get it all out of storage which is an hour away. See you then.

Advice:
Run what you have .... remember, the only STOCK racer is the new guy....most of the guys who have been racing usually have moved on and spent hundreds of dollars on certified motor, low IR batteries, super dischargers/chargers, ceramic bearings to get that edge without being illegal. If you want to go faster.... go MOD ... cheaper (if you know how to drive).

This is very true and applicable to Thornhill as well, the stock classes have almost died off completely as most folks have migrated to the dirt track, although they offer a shortened 1/10 layout on the 1/8 track, most folks need a mod motor in order to clear the jumps more easily as well as take advantage of the longer straights with more power. There are a handful of 13.5 cars still running on dirt, but I rarely run my 13.5 stock anymore on turf, I just bring it to help fill a class if they need an extra driver.

Thats good advice and I think ill go with it. Maybe upgrade a motor every once in a while. I'm going to the track tomorrow to see how things work now. From what I can tell so far most of my favorite classes are dead or on the larger track. Part of what i loved about 10th was the smaller technical tracks. Granted I prefer 8th but 10th helped me hone my driving skills more than 8th did. 10th 13.5 on a track meant for 8th just seems like driving mini 8th cars on a huge track even if it is shorter. We'll see. I wont fully knock it till I try it.

I moved on and sold my 1/10 2wd buggy and concentrate more on ebuggy and play around in 4wd Mod buggy. The outdoor loose and wet dirt track I race at is perfect for it.